Janin Blanchet join the Canadian Armed Forces in 1991. He graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1996. He obtained his wings on helicopters in Dec 1997. Following graduation from flight school, he was posted to 430 Squadron in Valcartier, Qc. where he had the opportunity to participate in numerous domestic operations and three deployments to Bosnia.
In 2003, he was posted to 403 Squadron in Gagetown, NB where he became a flight instructor on the CH146 Griffon helicopter. He later became in charge of developing, implementing and supervising the flight simulator recurrency training for all CH-146 pilots in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). He became an expert in his field and participated to the formation of many flight instructors at the CH-146 Operational Training Unit (OTU).
Promoted to the rank of Major in 2007, he was posted to the National Defense Headquarters (NDHQ) in the Air Staff in the Directorate of Air Strategic Plans where he became the Tactical Helicopter Line of Operation Manager within the Air Force Campaign Plan, overlooking Air Force development initiatives and efforts and providing advice to senior leaders on rotary wing related issues.
In 2011, he was appointed Chief Helicopter Instructor at 3 Canadian Forces Flight Training School (3CFFTS), Portage-La-Prairie, MB where he had the pleasure of leading the RCAF helicopter pilot production. Being offered a promotion and a posting to Ottawa in 2014, Major Blanchet kindly declined and enjoyed life as a stay-at-home dad, supporting wife and kids for a short while. In 2016, he joined the ranks of the Reserve Force and completed the Joint Command and Staff Program. In 2018, he started working for SkyAlyne as a military aviation training consultant and continues to do so to this day. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, he is also working in NDHQ, coordinating the RCAF Cyber Mission Assurance Program.
LCol Blanchet is a graduate of RMC in Computer Engineering, the Land Forces Command and Staff College and the Joint Command and Staff College. His involvement with TWS Foundation started with an interview for The-Command-Post, where he discussed his experience as a dad while his wife was away in Kuwait for seven months. He believes that sharing uncommon stories like his will help others who are equally faced with difficult work-life challenges.